Advice to Pass Along: Level 350 and 356 of Candy Crush

Yes, another one. Skip it if you don’t play Candy Crush. If you do, you understand the frustration Level 350 and Level 356 bring. I have a very specific way for winning both of these levels.

Both are awful. For me, until I figured out how to do it, 356 was actually worse. Read on if you’re also stuck.

Level 350 of Candy Crush

I had heard awful things about this level. It seemed a place where everyone got stuck, so I went into it knowing that I would likely be stuck there too for a bit. It probably helped to anticipate that it was going to be awful. I liked having the knowledge that it was going to suck, and it was going to suck hard.

This is a board that you will want to play from a device that will allow you to exit without wasting a life because there is only one type of board worth playing, and that is one where an opening move breaks three pieces of whipped cream, like the board above. I know what you’re thinking: before reading that last sentence, you would have made a striped with those four red in a row, but you’d be wrong. You actually want to break downward, ignoring all else.

Drill down, drill down through that whipped cream, and only focus on that whipped cream, preferably the middle of it. If you get too close to the edge, you’ll set off the bombs. And you’re not ready for that yet. Don’t set off speckled doughnuts if you can help it. Only use stripes or bombs if they clear whipped cream and nothing else. Think of yourself as a worker ant with one task: clear the whipped cream. Everything else is a distraction meant to mess you up.

The only time you want to use a striped/wrap combo is AFTER you’ve cleared most of the whipped cream and you can use it very low down on the board. Same with a striped/doughnut combo. Play it before you’ve cleared that whipped cream, and you’ve created a bomb nightmare. Play it after you’ve cleared the whipped cream, and you can pop a lot of the jelly at the top of the board.

Get it? Don’t get distracted. Just focus on the whipped cream.

The reality is that once you clear the whipped cream, you’ll leave a big chunk of the board open and will likely make a lot of combos. So break that whipped cream as your sole focus, and you’ll clear the board with combos after most of the whipped cream is gone.

Good luck!

Level 356 of Candy Crush

The first few times I played this board, I only made one striped combo. Most rounds ended without making any. Then I was teaching Hour of Code (see, I do erudite things too) and I realized that I was going about this wrong. I had to think about this board as I would rethreading a drawstring that has gotten pulled out of a sweatshirt hood. You don’t focus on trying to move the string insomuch as you try to move something else (like a ballpoint pen) through that drawstring area.

So it helps to know how the candies move. The ones in the top left only fall in the top left. The ones in the bottom left move the ones in its own quadrant and the one above. The top right quadrant moves the candies in the two quadrants on the left, and the bottom right quadrant is rock bottom. That quadrant is the least helpful place to have a striped candy. I’ll explain that in a moment. But the board reads like a two-column article. You get to the bottom of the left column and your eye goes to the top right and starts to read down again. Same with the candies.

When you make a striped candy, let’s say, in that far right row in the top right quadrant (with the orange ones), you will now want to make your next striped candy in either that row (far right, any quadrant) or the one right next to it (second from right row, any quadrant). Let’s pretend you made one in the second-from-the-right row in the bottom left quadrant. What you’d want to do to pull it toward your other striped candy is to make any matches in that SAME ROW (second-from-the-right) in either of the right quadrants. Because that will gently pull it — like a drawstring — toward the one that is already in the top right quadrant.

Did that make sense? Essentially every row moves as one with others in the same placement regardless of quadrant. So if you make a match in the far left row on the bottom right quadrant, it will affect every left row. But only every left row (unless it inadvertently makes a match along the way). So, back to that striped orange candy you made in the top right quadrant. When you did that, you also made a vertical three-way match with the yellow ones in the second-from-the-right row, correct? That is going to move all the other candies in the second-to-right row that are above it. So it will move that green one down and it will also move the yellow-blue-green-yellow-yellow-blue-yellow-orange (read that going downward) in the second-from-the-right row in the two left quadrants.

Got it?

Be prepared that striped ones will accidentally be detonated before you can use them. And that’s okay. Because you’ll make a bunch of them. And you’ll work slowly and patiently to slide candies through like you’re rethreading a drawstring. Don’t stress too much about the bombs; they usually get taken out as they travel down the board. Only deal with them if they’re about to go off. And yes, you can also bring down candies that will match that bomb and get rid of it using this same method.

A hint: it is easiest if you can make the striped candies on the left side because then you can gently tug things down on the right side. They don’t have to travel as far on the left.

Also, look for places where you have two of one colour (let’s say, red), one of another colour (blue), and then another red. Make a match in another quadrant to gently pull down another red in that blue row. That will form a stripe for you. If nothing else, make a match in the bottom right quadrant because it will mix up all the quadrants for you and give you a new chance to create a stripe.

And that’s how it’s done. I passed it in two tries when I changed the way I was thinking about playing this board to my rethreading method.

Currently: I’m on Level 361, and I’m happy to go backwards and explain how I did any board before that. Sometimes it was stupid luck but other times, there was actual thought involved (here are the other advice posts I’ve written). Let me know the level you’re struggling with.

I’M SO BITTER. You were so far behind me and I’m going to be stuck at 350 for the rest of my life. I’m currently playing the dream levels which I don’t love and I think are kind of dumb, but only so I don’t have to play 350.

I have been on this level for 6 weeks & ready to give up! I will try your tips. I did try to reset the board but can’t get one like you show above. It’s helping but haven’t beaten it yet! I get more moves with your suggestions. So frustrated. I completed the dream levels! Thanks for your suggestions!

I’ve been playing it that way for several days. I run out of matches to move the candies. So you still need a good board and a lot of luck. I’ve had 4 matches several times but always run out of moves or a bomb goes off, that I couldn’t maneuver to delete it.

try it again, the last two boards if you try to move three down sometimes it will and sometimes it will move two and change color or move about 6 then the next time work right. It’s impossible the way it is.

OML! i cant believe it!! i was stuck on 350 for almost a week now, and thats the longest i’ve been stuck on any level! i thought it was the end of candy crush for me i just somehow came across your post, read it twice thoroughly and played and actually crossed this terror! Thank You Soo Very Much! You have truly studied this level perfectly <3

My minds eye, did not understand your tips/. I must must be very slow, and stupid – what is whipped cream? Guess I am not a real candy crusher. I will go back and read a third time, they say that’s a charm.

I don’t know who you are, but I’m damn glad I chanced upon your site. I must have made ~100 attempts at 350 before reading your suggestions. Still took several more attempts after that, but a 3- star victory was soon mine.

As to 356, I only suffered maybe a half dozen tries before remembering you’d put something together for that level as well. I sat down to read and get my head around your theory. Then I gave it another go. Holy MoG. In my very next attempt, I managed another 3- star victory -with 19 moves to spare! Tnx for putting these out there!

I have spent MONTHS on 350. I’ve basically quit playing. Every now and then, I’ll log on and blow my five lives and then leave for a couple of weeks. Next time I log on, I’ll try your method of breaking 3 whipped creams on the first move and then not getting distracted. I used to play CC daily and spend money on it. Now, nothing. No money because I won’t reward King for this heinousness!!!

Have been stuck on level 350 for weeks – closest I’ve got has been one jelly to clear! Am very frustrated but will try your tips, however in the last day or so my game starts with only 40 lives not 60? Why is that?

I passed level 35o in three tries was following the same strategy as mentioned above though didn’t read it. Everytime I would clear that whipped cream or whatever I would look at the top of the board and see if there is a chance to make a color bomb, stripped candy or a wrapped candy. if possible i would do that.

in one of the games got a color bomb and work towards getting a stripped candy near it, worked like charm cleared almost all of the remaing board and then got some wrapped-stripped combo to clear the board.

Excellent advice on 356. I quickly passed it with a few moves to spare after a long time messing around

I’d add only that it’s wise to reset the board at the start to make sure you (a) have a couple of moves in the lower right quadrant, and (b) have one easy stripe to set up on the left side somewhere. Vital to keep in reserve some moves on the right side to aid stripe formation on the left

Who is Mel?

Melissa, otherwise known as Mel, The Stirrup Queen, and most recently nicknamed Lollipop Goldstein, has been blogging since 2006. In addition to STIRRUP QUEENS, she also writes the daily Lost and Found (LFCA). She also writes for BlogHer. You can join her on StumbleUpon. She's known to Twitter about her wonky ovaries.